Alveolar ridge alterations after lateral GBR with and withouthyaluronic acid (xHyA) - a prospective randomized trial withmorphometric and histomorphometric evaluation.

Abstract

To clinically and histologically evaluate the potential effect of a cross-linked high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (xHyA) on the outcomes of guided bone regeneration (GBR) performed with a demineralized bovine bone mineral (DBBM) covered with a natural collagen membrane (NCM). Eleven patients (eight females and three males, mean age 53 years) with a total of 27 surgical sites were treated. Treatments were performed with either DBBM and NCM fixated with tacks (group A) or DBBM mixed with xHyA and subsequently covered with NCM (group B). Clinical evaluations were made at Baseline (T1), immediately after GBR (T2) and at the time of implant placement (T3). Additionally, at the time of implant placement, core biopsies were retrieved and submitted for histological analysis. Healing was uneventful in all cases. At six months, group B revealed a statistically significantly higher crestal ridge dimension compared to group A (P=0.007). The histologic analysis revealed a tendency for higher mineralized tissue formation in group B compared to group A (i.e., 67.5% versus 41.6%) and contained a higher amount of new bone (37.2%) and less DBBM residues (20.9%) than group A (i.e., 12.8% new bone and 28.8% DBBM residues, respectively). Within their limits, the present data indicate that, during GBR with NCM, the combination of DBBM and xHyA may improve the quality and quantity of bone formed with DBBM alone.